Jon Hamm Faces Tense Standoff in ‘American Hostage’ Trailer

Logo text Jon Hamm plays a 1970s radio reporter facing a tense three-day hostage standoff in the trailer for American Hostage, the psychological thriller from MGM+ set to debut on Sept. 20. Hamm, reprising his role from the narrative podcast series of the same name, is Fred Heckman who, in real life, was a popular Indianapolis WIBC radio reporter “thrust into the middle of a life-or-death crisis when hostage taker Tony Kiritsis demands to be interviewed on his popular radio news program,” according to a synopsis from Sony Pictures Television. Giovanni Ribisi plays Kiritsis, who rings into Heckman’s call-in show to announce he has a 12-guage shotgun aimed a man’s neck. “I’m a mad, mean mother, and if anyone makes a move, he will die right here,” the hostage taker adds at one point in the teaser trailer. Heckman and his radio team wrestle with whether to give Kiritsis airtime, before taking a risk and going ahead. “Hello Tony. You are live and on the air,” Hamm’s character declares at another point in the trailer, which opens the way to 63 hours of chaos and confrontation. Co-created by Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers, the eight-episode American Hostage series from Sony Pictures Television will culminate with a finale on Nov. 1. Ryan and Eileen Myers co-wrote the series script after the duo previously teamed for Amazon’s Mad Dogs. American Hostage also stars Kristoffer Polaha, William Jackson Harper, Mireille Enos, Jonathan Tucker and Kat Cunning. The executive producer credits are shared among Ryan, Myers, Sharon Hoffman, Hamm, Connie Tavel, Marney Hochman, Shawn Christensen, Gabriel Mason, Jen Roskind, Adam Arkin and Nina Lopez Corrado.